From Wednesday, Sept 21

It’s 70 degrees out with a breeze and I am sitting in a café with the man at the next table wearing a coat -- winter coat.  For the first day in many, I have energy and do not feel worn down by the heat and the humidity!  Yesterday afternoon, and again this afternoon, we have had thunder and lightening and rain showers.

Today when I got up and told Abdullah that I was going to go to the Ethnographic Museum after breakfast.  I thought it would be a good idea to let him know in advance and it was just fine.  We haven’t really set up a schedule; rather I have pretty much been spending all my time with him and Ayten, which I actually don’t mind.  I do want to see more here in Izmir and around Izmir though, and as Abdullah cannot walk far, I will do these on my own.  I also let him know that this weekend I will be going to either Pergamum – another archeological site, or to a beachside town on a peninsula south of here.  Will read more tonight and will also figure out which is the easiest to get to, etc.

To get to the museum, I had to walk about 15 minutes through the modern shopping district of Kashayaka to the ferry.  This was the same ferry that I tried out a few days ago and got a metro card for, so it was quite easy to take.  It’s just a 15-minute ride from the Kashayaka side of the bay to Konak, the old downtown district.  From there, it was just a 5 minute walk up hill to the museum. And, as usual, I really enjoyed the ethnography museum.  I just love seeing the different types of handcrafts, -- such as embroidery and weaving, jewelry making, kitchen implements, woodwork, etc., and the different types of clothing for the different occasions and everyday life. 

From the Ethnographical Museum, I went next door to the Archeological Museum.  Huge collection of headless statutes from an archeological dig in Metropolis, along with pottery and other items from different sites.  But this is definitely my favorite! So, so cool!  An Olympic runner made out of bronze.

I caught the ferry home and just when it docked, a cloud burst with torrential rain.  Everyone ran off the ferry, onto the dock and up against the wall of the building, under the roof overhang.  It was interesting to see down the main pedestrian boulavard all the people stopped everywhere in doorways, waiting for the rain to stop.  I thought of how if people did this in Juneau we would never go anywhere!  The rain let up after about 10 minutes and I was able to walk back to Abdullah’s using my umbrella as the trees were still dripping.  I was wearing sandals and had to walk through puddles of water and my initial reaction was surprise that it was not cold!